


A Ghost's Death

by struckbykatie



Category: Original Work
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-01-01
Updated: 2012-01-01
Packaged: 2017-11-12 21:55:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,445
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/496048
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/struckbykatie/pseuds/struckbykatie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>So I'm in this amazing roleplay, and I played this guy Lance. (He was an OC.) This roleplay is about a school called TSI (The SHIELD Initiative Institution) that is full of people with mutant powers, and they're being taught by the Avengers. Surprise! Lance was under Loki's teachings, and so is Mina (His girlfriend). The villain featured here is named Jakker, and he killed another character (Her name was Alex-Black Widow's student) a few months previously. I had played Lance for two months, and I figured it was time to start afresh with a new character. (Her name is Jen. I also play Black Widow in this RP, but neither characters are in this little one-shot.) Anyway. This is how my character died, and I'm rather proud of it. I did play as Jakker, but I'm not very good at playing murderers, (which I suppose is a good thing). You can find the RP I'm in at http://shieldinitiative-rp.tumblr.com/ .</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Ghost's Death

It was a crisp night in New York. Not too warm or cold. The birds were singing their last melodies for the evening as the tree’s leaves rustled and the sidewalk vendors were closing up for the day. Right now, Lance Adams was the happiest he’s ever been, going out to get his girlfriend a soda across the street, then returning to one of his favorite bookstore chains to where Mina would be waiting with her warm arms and pretty smile that he loved.

He strode out the door, enjoying the wind cutting across his face. He felt his hair blow in the direction of the wind, and he was too filled with joy to bother to fix it.

Then there was a scream, and Lance turned his body to where the sound came from.  
Lance saw a man through the darkness, only the streetlights providing him sight. The man’s back was turned from him, and he could see through the little light he was provided that he was holding a weapon. A knife. A really, really, big knife. And then there was a young woman, looking to be in her late teens. She was staring, terrified at the man in front of her, as if the man were… attacking her…

He ran over to where they were standing, wondering if either of them saw him coming. Lance didn’t know what he was doing. It just didn’t feel right to leave her defenseless. “Hey! You! Leave the girl alone!” He screamed, approaching the two in a sprint. He saw the man turn toward him, his expression a mix of aggressiveness and amusement. The next thing he saw was a fist coming toward his face.

His mind raced, fast enough for him to turn invisible and the other man to spin in confusion. He turned visible just in time to kick the man in the stomach hard enough to leave a mark. The other man knelt in pain, and he had enough time to grab a rock and hit him over the head. The man collapsed, out cold. He turned to ask the girl if she was okay, and her face was frozen in fear. He was about to step forward, wondering why she wasn’t looking at him and not running.

Then there was a shooting pain in his back, and Lance fell to his knees. He saw a shadow in front of him, and he slowly turned around, holding back a scream. The blade was deep inside the area by his upper spine, and he wasn’t sure if it was even healable at all. He craned his neck, and he saw a man that looked familiar. Too familiar. And the images of the bowling alley surfaced to his mind, and he collapsed face down, the handle of the knife still visible on Lance’s back.

“Jakker.” he croaked. “Wha- Why- Alex.” It was becoming more and more difficult to speak, and his energy was already draining slowly. The taller man watched him with interest and amusement, much like his croonie did. Jakker walked to where his croonie lay knocked out, and turned him over with his shoe.

“You did a very nice job with him. I’m sure your mentor would be very proud.”

Lance was now filled with fear and anger, and nothing else. “Oh, that -nothing.” he growled. “…see what I can do to- Chitauri.” He saw the man’s boots approach him, and his vision became blurry as he felt a heavy foot on his lower back, the pain now excruciating.

“Oh, dear, dear, dear. Whatever will your little playmate think when she sees you? Weakling? Coward? Worthless, no doubt.”

“She wouldn’t be the first.” He groaned, trying to ignore the voice in his head to abort mission. He had to stay awake. Wait until Mina came out to look for him. She had to look for him, right? He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to think of happy things like his friends and his family and Mina. But now, his mind only flashed to the names, the teases, the taunts, the injuries. Lance was now growing exhausted, and his body was going numb. “She- Someone- Catch you.” He panted, not sure why he was still alive, why he wasn’t already decomposing on the sidewalk. Lance felt the foot come off his back, and wondered if someone was on their way.

Then he heard quick footsteps moving in the opposite direction as him, and Jakker humming a familiar tune as he ran away, leaving his croonie to lie there with Lance. Then he shut his eyes. He had to hold on. He had to wait for someone, for anyone, to come. To see him bleeding. To help. But for now, he closed his eyes while trying to breathe, still looking for those happy thoughts.

\- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

Mina took the bag from the cashier, slipping her wallet into her purse as she left the store. The bag was heavy, bumping into her leg. She hadn’t been stingy in her purchases. Pushing out onto the sidewalk, she looked across the street for Lance and his grin that always seemed to be just below the surface. She frowned as she saw him dash away into the darkness, not smiling at all. A sense of dread began to grow in the pit of her stomach.

She wove her way through the crowds as quickly as she could, but it still felt like the crowd was actually holding her back. Finally across the street, she saw someone leave the alley Lance had gone into. He looked strangely familiar, humming a song she knew, but it wasn’t Lance, and it didn’t make her feel any better about the situation. 

Turning into the darkened alley, she finally saw the form she knew so well on the ground. She ran towards him, calling his name, the bag slipping from her hands somewhere along the way. “Lance!” she said, sliding to the ground next to him, her hands reaching out to touch him, as though it might not be real. It was then that she saw the knife, almost grotesquely large, protruding from his back. Her breath caught for a moment as she stared at it, before she looked to his face. 

“Lance!” she repeated, putting a hand on his cheek, looking for any sign of life. “Say something, anything. Come on, Lance, look at me, look at me,” she pleaded, her voice catching as her throat tightened. “Oh, please be okay,” she whispered, leaning down towards his face, tears leaking out of her eyes unnoticed.

\- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

He was about to give up.

He heard no one coming for him. No sign that anyone even cared that he was there. The girl who was attacked had run away, unharmed. He had finally done a good deed, in his book. Then he heard Mina’s voice, and he swore in his mind that he’d let out a relieved breath if he had any to spare. He could feel his brain shutting down, along with the rest of his body. It’s not long now. He thought.

He slowly positioned his body so that he could face Mina, giving her a soft smile. “Hey, M.” His face was ghostly white, almost like he was really his namesake. His current position was painful, yes. Very, very painful. But it would be all over soon, and it was worth it, just to see Mina again. He reached for her hand, squeezing it as hard as he could, which wasn’t very hard to begin with.

“Miss me?” He chuckled softly, ignoring the added pain it was causing. He leaned into Mina’s touch, loving the warmth on his cheek. “I’m- Okay.” He coughed, blood spattering onto the floor beneath him. He then saw her tears and the blood on her hands, and he felt terrible. “No, no. Don’t cry. Please.” He squeezed her hand again, nodding as if he was agreeing with himself. “…-Be alright. Promise.” He coughed again, the movement and blood loss becoming more and more painful. “I promise.” He repeated this with the biggest grin he could muster.

And then, his vision went black and his other senses shut down. He sank back onto the concrete, his hand that was holding him up to face Mina was now sprawled across the sidewalk. His chest hit the ground, bringing down his head. His eyes were still open, but the light there was gone, leaving just an empty brown space. His head was still facing where Mina sat, and a smile was still on his face. He let out one last breath, and his grip on Mina’s hand loosened.  
The ghost was no more.

**Author's Note:**

> Wow. So many people to thank.
> 
> 1\. Mina's player, who I call AK. She was my writing partner in this little one-shot, and I couldn't have found a better person to do this particular plot with. Well, maybe the people below could be just as equally awesome. I love all these people okay.  
> 2\. The people in the RP who read over this for me and also frequently talk to me and tolerate my never ever shutting up. They play characters who are not involved in this plot, but I thank/love/admire them so, so, much anyway because they're awesome. These people include-  
> ~The players of Original Character brothers, who I call Alls and Eli.  
> ~Thor's player, who I call Jacks.  
> ~Loki's player, who I call Seb.  
> ~One of the two RP admins, who I call Lils.  
> ~Four Original Character players, who I call Liv, Prax, Becca, and Hayley.  
> All these people helped me pull this off with amazing patience, and they talk to me and roleplay with me no matter what sort of stupid things come out of my mouth. Or rather, my fingers. They deserve endless standing ovations, along with everyone else in the RP who didn't murder me for doing this to my poor muse. No, seriously. A piece of cake for all of them.
> 
> Lastly, I thank you, dear reader. If you actually read all this, you get an Oreo. Or a Poptart. Up to you.


End file.
